Which long range .338 Bullet to use?

[orangeride]

I've recently been hunting a new area, and I'm finding 95% of the shots on elk are pretty long, 400-800 yards shots are typical. The country is rolling grass hills or low sage, the views are wide open. I've been shooting a .338 RUM with 225 nosler accubonds, and I'm thinking I need something heavier. I've got three loads that are shooting super sweet
1. 250 accubond at 3065fps
2. 250 SMK at 3020fps
3. 250 Berger elite hunter is shooting great at 2905fps and 2995fps
Does anyone have any experience with these billets on elk at these ranges? Some shoots may be a little iffy, ie animal not presenting a perfect broadside shot. What can I except. All three are basically shooting the same accuracy.
thanks.

 

[whirlwindjml]

At those ranges....the accubond 250 if i had them on hand. But if you do your part with any of them i think mr elks gunna have abad day.

I havnt had personal experiences with the other 250s but watched a lot of vid ect of kills and again i think if you wait for a good hit/shot its done.

 

[orangeride]

Thanks for the input, I want to avoid a situation when the Bullet fails to penetrate

 

[Scott E Ames]

Your 225 Accubond in the boiler room is more than plenty. But to answer your question any of the 3 listed will also do the trick very nicely. I have very dead elk with 225 AB, 250 AB and 225 nosler partition (338 Win Mag not RUM). No actual experience with the others in 338 but good results with them in other calibers. My longest shot was just short of 600 however.
I am guessing you meant Game King on the Sierra?

 

[codyadams]

I honestly would pick the 250 Berger of those for extended ranges. The only time I would consider the accubond is if your shots were 300 or less. For farther ranges, the terrible bc of the accubond will really hurt, and slow down, loosing a ton of energy. Just make sure the tips of the Bergers are opened up. I am personally trying the Badland Precision 270 grain super bulldozer, it has a bc of about .810 or so, and I'm shooting them at 2840 out of my 24" .338 Norma, so around what you would get it doing. External ballistics are flat out impressive. Haven't tried them on game yet, excited to see how they do. They are a tipped monolithic bullet.

 

[whirlwindjml]

Thanks for the input, I want to avoid a situation when the Bullet fails to penetrate

Id say accubond then. but again at 900 yards my 338wm with 250 accubond dents the ar500 steel pretty good. So with a rum i think youll be penetrating well with any.

 

[Tikkamike]

I have shot a pile of elk with 250ab out of my 338 rum. It kinda bothers me that they don't always exit but they have all been instant kills as far as I can remember. It's a hammer for sure

 

[Buck Fever]

I don't know how those behave on game but what does a ballistic calculator say the velocity will be at 700ish yards?

I bought a bunch of those Bergers to develop a load for my upcoming 338 RUM but I hunt paper mostly and intend to do so at 1,000 yards+ so I figured a "hunting" bullet made sense for my long range mag fed load. For ELR I'm going to single load solids around the same weight.

 

[whirlwindjml]

kinda bothers me that they don't always exit but they have all been instant kills

Sound like all the energy is being dumped in the animal rather than out though....thats a good thing. Drt dont need a blood trail.

 

[Westernhuntr]

Thanks for the input, I want to avoid a situation when the Bullet fails to penetrate

In that case avoid the 250 Bergers, they come apart like a grenade.
I'd give the 252 cutting edge a try, or the 265 ABLR

 

[bigngreen]

The Berger 250 has been my favorite for years, very few bullets I've seen hit elk that hard, it's a go to bullet for sure!! Never seen an elk take two which I can't say for a lot of bullets.

 

[josip89]

Why not 270 eld x?

 

[memtb]

I've recently been hunting a new area, and I'm finding 95% of the shots on elk are pretty long, 400-800 yards shots are typical. The country is rolling grass hills or low sage, the views are wide open. I've been shooting a .338 RUM with 225 nosler accubonds, and I'm thinking I need something heavier. I've got three loads that are shooting super sweet
1. 250 accubond at 3065fps
2. 250 SMK at 3020fps
3. 250 Berger elite hunter is shooting great at 2905fps and 2995fps
Does anyone have any experience with these billets on elk at these ranges? Some shoots may be a little iffy, ie animal not presenting a perfect broadside shot. What can I except. All three are basically shooting the same accuracy.
thanks.

While many elk have been killed with the bullets on your list, unless you can pretty much guarantee that it "will not" be needed for a close shot....I suggest "none of the above". With the velocities available with your RUM, you should have more than adequate velocity for good expansion @ and a bit beyond the 800 yards you stated.....I'd suggest a more "heavily" constructed bullet! The "aforementioned" (more heavily constructed) bullet, should give you more reliable performance at close range, should that shot present itself....yet perform well at extended ranges!

Something to consider, if a shot presents itself at close range, you may not have time to "surgically" place the bullet.....this is where a "premium" bullet gives you an insurance policy! JMO. memtb

 

[338 dude]

I've never been lucky enough to even go on an elk hunt yet much less shoot an elk with my 338 Lapua

but the 250 burgers work great on deer